Classic Beef & Mushroom Stew

A slow-simmered, rich and deeply flavorful beef stew with tender mushrooms and root vegetables.

By Cressio Rinaldi

A good beef stew is built on patience. Beef chuck is a tough, well-worked cut, full of connective tissue that needs hours of slow, gentle heat to turn into silky, melting tenderness. There is no trick that speeds it up. What you can do is give the stew a deep, savory foundation, and that is where the first 20 minutes matter.

This recipe starts by searing the beef hard in batches, which builds a layer of brown, caramelized flavor on the bottom of the pot. The onion, garlic and tomato paste cook in that flavor, a little flour thickens the broth, and then everything simmers for up to two hours.

It serves six and makes great leftovers. Like most stews, it tastes better the next day, once the flavors have had time to settle.

Read this first

1. Pat the beef dry, and sear it in batches. A crowded pot steams the meat.
2. Keep the simmer low. Boiling toughens the meat.
3. Taste at the end, and season. The long cook mellows salt.

Prep time: 20 mins · Cook time: 120 mins · Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Beef chuck, cubed into 1.5-inch pieces
• 8 oz Baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups Beef broth
• 3 Carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
• 3 Fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp Olive oil

Instructions

1. Pat the beef cubes dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the beef in batches until browned on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Look for: Deeply browned beef on every side, with a dark brown coating in the bottom of the pot.
2. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pot, sauté the onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste, cooking for 1 minute. Look for: Soft onion, fragrant garlic and a tomato paste that has turned a rusty red.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw taste. Look for: A pasty, golden mixture with no dry flour visible.
4. Return the beef to the pot. Add the mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, thyme sprigs, and pour in the beef broth. Stir well to combine. Look for: A full pot, with the broth just covering the meat and vegetables.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours until the beef is very tender and the sauce has thickened. Look for: A gentle simmer with a few lazy bubbles, and beef that falls apart when pressed with a spoon.
6. Remove thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping. Look for: A thick, glossy gravy that coats the back of a spoon.

Nutrition

Amount per serving. Nutritional values are estimates calculated from the ingredients above and can vary.

• Calories: 280
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 35g
• Fiber: 10g
• Sugar: 5g
• Protein: 15g
• Sodium: 630mg
• Cholesterol: 25mg

Notes

• Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days — this stew tastes even better the next day.
• Freezing: Freezes beautifully for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
• Low and Slow: The full 1.5-2 hour simmer is what turns tough chuck into fork-tender meat — resist the urge to rush it with higher heat.

Cook It With Me

Sear the beef

Pat the 2 lbs of beef chuck dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the beef in batches, so the pieces don’t touch, for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Move each batch to a plate. Don’t rush, because the brown crust is the flavor of the stew.

Soften the onion

Reduce the heat to medium. In the same pot, cook the chopped onion for about 4 minutes, until it softens, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the 3 minced garlic cloves and the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until the paste darkens slightly.

Add the flour

Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the onions and stir for 1 minute, to cook out the raw taste. This is what thickens the stew.

Combine

Return the beef and any juices to the pot. Add the sliced mushrooms, carrots, cubed potatoes and thyme sprigs, then pour in the 4 cups of beef broth. Stir well, scraping the bottom.

Simmer

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring now and then. The beef should be very tender and fall apart when pressed, and the sauce should be thick.

Finish

Remove the thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot, with crusty bread to dip in the gravy.

The Ingredients, One by One

Beef chuck

Choose a well-marbled chuck roast and cut it yourself into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Pre-cut stew meat is often a mix of cuts that cook at different speeds. The fat and collagen in chuck are what make the stew silky.

Baby bella mushrooms

They add an earthy, meaty flavor. They shrink a lot, so slice them thick.

Beef broth

Four cups. A good quality broth matters here, because it becomes the sauce. Low-sodium lets you control the salt.

Carrots and Yukon Gold potatoes

Both hold their shape better than starchy potatoes. Cut them into pieces of similar size.

Onion, garlic and tomato paste

The base of the flavor. Cooking the tomato paste for a minute removes its raw taste.

Flour and thyme

The flour gives body to the gravy. The thyme sprigs infuse the stew and come out at the end.

Olive oil

For searing the beef.

The Technique Behind It

Why you sear first

Browning creates new flavors on the surface of the meat that simmering never can. It also leaves brown bits on the pot, which dissolve into the broth.

Why a low simmer

Chuck needs to stay above about 160 F for a long time to break down its collagen into gelatin. A boil makes the muscle fibers squeeze tight and the meat turns tough and dry.

Why dry the meat

Wet meat steams and doesn’t brown. A dry surface sears.

Mistakes That Cost You the Dish

• Crowding the pot The beef steams and doesn’t brown.
• Boiling the stew The meat gets tough.
• Skipping the browning The stew tastes flat.
• Cutting the beef too small It dries out.
• Not stirring The bottom can scorch.

Fix It: If This Happens, Do This

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Beef is tough	Not cooked long enough, or boiled	Keep simmering gently. Tough chuck needs more time.
Stew is thin	Too much liquid	Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
Stew is too thick	Reduced too far	Add a splash of broth.
Stew is bland	Not seasoned enough	Add salt, a splash of Worcestershire or a squeeze of lemon.
Potatoes are mushy	Cooked too long	Add them later, in the last 45 minutes.

What Each Ingredient Does (and What You Can Swap)

Ingredient	Its job	Swap, and what changes
Beef chuck	Tough, flavorful cut	Beef shank or short ribs work.
Beef broth	Liquid	Add a cup of red wine for depth.
Baby bella mushrooms	Earthy flavor	White mushrooms work.
Yukon Gold potatoes	Starch	Parsnips or turnips work.
Fresh thyme	Herb	Rosemary or bay leaf work.

Plan Ahead

• Make ahead: It tastes better the next day.
• Fridge: Up to 4 days.
• Reheat: Gently on the stove.
• Freezer: Up to 3 months. The potatoes soften.

What to Serve With It

Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread for dipping. Chopped fresh parsley on top adds color. Mashed potatoes or buttered noodles work too.

Questions People Ask

About the Author

Cressio Rinaldi

Cressio Rinaldi is the recipe developer behind Cressio Recipes. He cooks, tests, and writes every recipe on the site himself — refining each one until it's simple enough for a weeknight and good enough to make again. He's not a trained chef, just someone who cooks constantly and pays close attention to what actually makes a recipe work.